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Europe ends lower
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December 13, 2001: 12:34 p.m. ET
Logica leads decline of tech stocks after UK revenue warning, Alcatel hammered
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LONDON (CNN) - European markets fell lower late on Thursday, with weak corporate results and profit warnings on both sides of the Atlantic.
Telecom equipment makers were hit hard after U.S. firm Lucent Technologies said its first-quarter loss would be larger than expected. France's Alcatel shed 7.6 percent, Sweden's Ericsson dropped 6.5 percent and Nokia lost 4.7 percent.
British IT services group Logica (LOG) plunged more than 14 percent after it said UK revenue growth had been weak due to declining revenues in its telecoms unit.
London's FTSE 100 lost 1 percent to 5,067.1 and the CAC 40 blue chip index in Paris fell 2 percent to reach 4,417.42, while Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax dipped 1.6 percent to 4,982.5.
The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, was down 1.5 percent, with the computer services, information technology and media sectors lower.
Cap Gemini (PCAP), Europe's biggest computer services company, dropped 3.8 percent on news it was cutting another 2,500 jobs and halving its operating margin for the year. Its chief executive is also retiring.
UK chip designer ARM Holdings, Europe's biggest, lost 9.6 percent.
The only bright note for techs was a stronger performance by German chipmaker Infineon (FIFX), Europe's second-largest, which outperformed the market as fears about a share placement and bond issue receded. It gained 1.8 percent.
British Sky Broadcasting (BSY), Europe's second-largest pay-TV broadcaster, fell 6.8 percent after Vivendi Universal (PEX) said it was cutting its stake in the company. Vivendi Universal closed 4.4 percent lower.
French broadcaster TF1 lost 4.8 percent as investors reported a move by the company to buy a 25 percent stake in Spanish peer Telecinco, seen worth  511 million, as expensive. Lagardere fell 4.7 percent on speculations it could issue a profit warning.
German airline Lufthansa dropped 7 percent on news it and British Airways, down 7.2 percent, are interested in buying Swissair's stake in Polish national airline PLL LOT.
German utility E.ON gained 3.7 percent after releasing its investment plans for the next 3 years. French utility Suez added 1.9 percent.
Elsewhere, Italian jeweler Bulgari was down 6.8 percent extending heavy losses into a second day as the market worried about the chances of a market warning, which the company has denied.
In Amsterdam, the AEX index was down 1.7 percent and the SMI in Zurich fell 0.8 percent, and Milan's MIB30 index dipped 2.6 percent.
In the U.S., Wall Street opened lower after data showed U.S. retail sales fell 3.7 percent last month -- the biggest monthly drop since records were first compiled in their current form in 1992.
The Nasdaq composite index lost 35.05 points, or 1.7 percent, to 1976.33. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 73.21 points, or 0.74 percent, to 9821.60. 
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